


To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

by Paratale



Series: All Those Times They Didn't Kiss [2]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Curzon Dax briefly resurfaces, Literary References, M/M, Pre-Slash, Solid!Odo, he ignores it of course, in which i ruin your favorite books, odo's subconscious is trying to tell him something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 14:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7643341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paratale/pseuds/Paratale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Odo dreams about his favorite Terran books... featuring Quark. Lwaxana isn't much help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Much Ado About Nothing

_He is standing on a balcony of Terran architectural design. Kava vines drip over the red stone fence and pool onto the floor. Sol rapidly descends to twilight as a figure comes hurrying out to join him._

_"Sweet Beatrice, wouldst thou come when I called thee?” He hears himself say._

_“Yes, signior, and depart when you bid me,” comes the reply. Odo blinks. Beatrice is standing before him and looking very… familiar._

_“Why are you wearing a dress?” Odo asks._

_“It’s a Ferengi tradition, Benedick,” Beatrice says haughtily, looking at Odo like he’s an idiot._

Oh, right, _Odo thinks._

_“I pray thee now, tell me for which of my bad parts didst thou fall in love with me?”_

That’s my line! _Odo grumbles to himself, but instead he says, “For them all together; which maintained so politic a state of evil, that they will not admit any good part to intermingle with them. But for which of my good parts did you first suffer love for me?”_

_“Suffer love,--a good epithet! I do suffer love indeed, for I love thee against my will,” says Beatrice wryly, taking Odo’s hands. Odo allows it; he knows the choreography of this scene by heart._

_“In spite of your heart, I think, alas, poor heart! If you spite it for my sake, I will spite it for yours; for I will never love that which my friend hates.”_

_“Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably,” Quark laughs at him, releasing Odo’s hands. Before he exits stage left, he turns back and says, still wearing Beatrice’s dress, “Try not to miss me too much while I’m gone.”_

Odo jerked and sat up in bed. To his horror, he found that _one_ part of his solid body had sat up already. He stumbled quickly to the ‘fresher and turned on the cold water setting.

When he finally exited the fresher half an hour later, he placed a priority call to Betazed, where he calculated it would be late at night—but hopefully Lwaxana would still be awake. Odo had given up trying to predict her circadian rhythm.

“Hello dear!” Lwaxana answered. The room behind her was illuminated by candles. Odo didn’t ask. He felt rather compelled to thank the prophets. “You look a bit ruffled, is something wrong?”

“Lwaxana, thank goodness you’re still up; I’ve been having these bizarre dreams and I fear there may be something wrong with my brain—“ Odo babbled. Lwaxana’s smile grew into a smirk.

“I assume there’s a reason you called me and not Doctor Bashir?”

“I—uh,” Odo stammered. Lwaxana chuckled. “My dreams are rather… personal in nature.”

“Well, let’s hear about them, then,” said Lwaxana. Odo could not understand how she could look so pleased when Odo was clearly suffering from some horrible neuropsychological affliction.

Odo took a deep breath. “I’ve been watching the holo of _Much Ado About Nothing_ you sent me—”

“Oh, I do love that play!” Lwaxana clasped her hands together eagerly. “Deanna gave me the holo as a birthday gift a few years ago; did I mention that? Terrans have the most amusing romantic comedies; nothing in that story could have ever happened on Betazed--”

“Yes, I enjoyed it too, regardless,” Odo plowed on, “When I fell asleep I saw a scene from the play—I mean to say that I ‘dreamed’ it—but it was a bit jumbled, and, ah, someone I know was in the. Um.” He cleared his throat. “The other role.”

Lwaxana leaned towards her screen expectantly. “So? Who was it?”

“Does it matter?” Odo asked defensively, crossing his arms. “It wasn’t anyone I wanted to see!”

“Dream interpretation is a delicate science, Odo. I need every detail.”

Odo sighed. “It was Quark,” he mumbled.

“What’s that? I’m afraid I didn’t catch it.”

“It was _Quark_ ,” Odo moaned.

“Oh! Well, that’s nothing to worry about,” Lwaxana said, dismissing Odo’s worries with a flick of her wrist. Several bracelets jangled as she did so. “Sometimes people we see every day just show up in our dreams. Was he Beatrice or Benedick?”

“He was dressed as Beatrice, but ended up speaking Benedick’s lines.”

“Interesting! But I don’t think you have anything to worry about, dear. Humanoids all have odd dreams occasionally, especially Humans. You know, my late husband—Deanna’s father—he used to dream up with the strangest things. Every night I spent with him was a wild ride.” She chuckled. “Including the ones where we didn’t sleep, of course.”

“That is reassuring,” said Odo, sighing his relief.

“Would you like to hear about the dream I had two nights ago?” Lwaxana didn’t wait for an answer. “It was quite something. The Bajoran lady, the Kai—Winn? She’s been on the news lately and I suppose my brain just committed her face to memory, because I dreamt about a wild night I had on Risa when I quite a bit younger than I am now, only _she_ was there! And you’ll never believe where we ended up--”

By the end of the call, Odo was not sure if he could look at Kai Winn with a straight face ever again, but it seemed a small price to pay for peace of mind.


	2. A Room With a View

_The Bajoran countryside is beautiful._

_Odo does not know what beauty is until Doctor Mora takes him on a walk outside the laboratory facilities. The scientists had tried to explain when Odo asked, but it was like describing red to someone who has only ever seen shades of blue._

_Odo follows closely behind Doctor Mora and his assistant, Doctor Pars. They are discussing some humanoid matter just out of Odo’s earshot. Odo desperately wants to be in on it._

_Doctor Pars clucks. “The Cardassians will overhear us—”_

_“I’m sorry, I just can’t stop—”_

_“Pol!”_

_“I’m sure it’s all right,” says Odo, though he isn’t sure to whom they were referring. Doctor Mora shoots him a displeased look._

_“Don’t eavesdrop, Odo,” he chides._

_“Odo, shouldn’t you be with Doctor Iras?” Doctor Pars peers at him as one might a small child._

_Odo looks around. “I don’t know where he’s gone. And I don’t want to see him anyway.”_

_“Odo.” Doctor Mora gives him the look Odo has come to recognize as a nonverbal way of conveying the words “_ please cease this difficult behavior.” _“He came expecting to see you.”_

_“But I’d rather stay with you.” Odo gives Doctor Mora his best imitation of an imploring gaze, but the scientist shakes his head._

_“Go find Doctor Iras. The topics we’re discussing are above your current comprehension, and I haven’t got time to explain them to you.”_

_The two scientists continue up the path. Odo looks about at the fractal plant forms surrounding him._ Those branches are like Bajoran hands _, he thinks, marveling at the constancy of organic form. He wants to become all of it, but Doctor Mora says he is not to shapeshift outside the lab, lest he get lost._

_Odo resigns himself to the emerging reality that he has to find Doctor Iras. The man is Cardassian medical doctor, and he once said he wanted to know what will happen if he pulls Odo apart and puts him in separate jars. “Will I have many little shapeshifters?” He had joked to Doctor Mora. Odo doesn’t like him. The corners of Doctor Mora’s mouth are always turned down when he’s around, which Odo knows to mean he is unhappy._

_Odo returns to their carriage, an ornate black thing parked in the green grass. The driver, a Trill named Curzon Dax, rises to greet him with a crooked smile._

_“Have you seen the doctor?” Odo asks him. Curzon doesn’t say anything, just smiles mysteriously. Odo realizes his universal translator must not be working. He thinks about how to ask for what he needs in the Trill language._

_“Où est le… l’homme qui a médicament?” Odo only manages French. He has been learning it for a while from a program Sisko gave him, but he can’t remember what the word for “doctor” is. It’s good enough for Curzon, apparently, because he nods and points down the road. Then he begins to walk. Odo follows._

_Curzon points out all the flowers along the road, naming them for Odo. Odo is again amazed by the ability of humanoids to name anything they come across. It seems so audacious. At one point the Trill runs ahead and picks a bouquet of Kava blossoms, handing them to Odo, who touches their petals carefully. They are beautiful to see and to hold, but what he really wants is to_ become _them._

_As they walk down the road, Odo looks around him with amazement. Every tiny blossom and thorn is a work of incredible complexity. He thinks he could walk in geodesics around Bajor for a thousand years and never be bored. He sees an openness forming ahead, light filtering in between the branches. It reveals glimpses of hills and rivers and golden grasses._

_“Attention!” Curzon calls._

_Odo’s next step doesn’t find solid ground. He cries out in surprise and reverts to a liquid state, dripping harmlessly down a little ravine. He reforms sitting in a cloud of little Kava blossoms._

_“Courage!” Curzon cheers from the brush. “Courage and love.”_

_Odo stares. In front of him is a great slope, interspersed by streams of the blossoms, flowing into an orange ocean which laps at the bottom of the hill. Standing at the edge is the “man who has medicine.”_

_Quark and Odo stare briefly at one another. Odo’s face is full of wonder and he is covered all over in petals from having emerged beneath a pile of blossoms. Quark kneels down and kisses him._

Odo woke up with a tingling in his lips. And elsewhere.

“That’s not even how it went,” he complained to the empty room. “I _found_ old Doctor Iras, and he was as unpleasant as ever.”


	3. Pride and Prejudice

_Odo is dancing. He feels his coat pull awkwardly and his hand sweat as Elizabeth takes hold of it. He is caught between wishing he was still a changeling, so he would not have to feel these irritating sensations, and being grateful that the rhythm of the dance comes so naturally to this humanoid body._

_“You’re the one who wanted to be a solid,” Elizabeth sneers at him, stepping in and then out, skirts rustling._

_“I never wanted to be a solid,” says Odo._

Thunk, thunk _. Elizabeth practically stomps the steps. They are the only dancers left on the floor. Elizabeth’s sister is playing the piano badly. Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth’s other sister have retired to the other room._

_“It must be very hard for you, Mr. Darcy, having been lowered to my level,” Elizabeth spits. Odo takes a step to the side as if to dodge the acid. Elizabeth grips his elbow like a vise. The sounds of Mary’s dissonant piano playing grow louder._

_“You expected me to take pride in the inferiority of your connections? The impropriety of your conduct?” Odo retorts, leading her roughly in a circle. “My feelings are well justified.”_

_“You expected me to be flattered by your advances when you consider your so-called affection for me a stain upon your character?” They are nose to nose. Elizabeth’s heated breath tickles Odo’s face. “If you care for a wretch like me as much as you claim to, what does that reveal about your heart?”_

_“You are so petty as to degrade your heart to insult mine?”_

_“I know my own petty heart. You are an arrogant prude who would not know a heart if it sang and danced in front of his eyes,” Elizabeth hisses._

_“And you are a fraud,” Odo growls._

_“Fascist!” Elizabeth cries, tackling Odo._

_“Failure!” They topple to the floor._

_“Fascist! Fascist!” Quark shouts as they struggle on the rocky ground. Odo can feel his body heat even through the insulating jacket. There is a cracking sound and a horrible pain in Odo’s leg--_

Odo jerked awake, the painful memory of his broken leg warring with the… not so painful memory of their bodies pressed together. Well, at least there was no _kissing_ in this one. His pajama pants stood at half-mast—some sort of compromise, he supposed as his made his way to the ‘fresher.

As he doused himself in cold water for the second time that week, he couldn’t decide if it was better or worse that this dream was even more scrambled and dissimilar from the story it was inspired by than the previous ones.


	4. Jane Eyre

_Odo stands in front of an airlock on Deep Space Nine. Quark stands in front of him in the deserted corridor. Quark is telling him he has to leave the station. Odo feels a strong urge to cry. He is infuriated by it._

_“Very soon, my—that is, Jane, and you’ll remember, Jane, the first time I, or Rumour, plainly intimated to you that it was my intention to put my old bachelor’s neck into the sacred noose, to enter into the holy estate of matrimony—”_

_This is not happening, he is not_ Jane Eyre _of all people--_

_Odo clamps his mouth shut and refuses to play along any further, but his treacherous humanoid brain supplies the next line to him against his will._

Not the voyage, but the distance…

_“From what, Jane?” The dream goes on._

_Odo feels Jane’s tears start to pour down his cheeks. He wonders if it is possible to die in a dream—from humiliation._

_“We have been good friends, Jane; haven’t we?” says Quark, with the cold leer of Mr. Rochester._

_Jane’s monologue spills out of Odo’s treacherous dream-mouth before he can stop himself. “I grieve to leave Thornfield: I love it, because I have lived in it a full and delightful life,—momentarily at least. I have not been trampled on. I have not been petrified. I have not been buried with inferior minds, and excluded from every glimpse of communion with what is bright and energetic and high. I have talked, face to face, with what I reverence, with what I delight in,—with an original, a vigorous, an expanded mind. I have known you, Mr. Rochester; and it strikes me with terror and anguish to feel I absolutely must be torn from you forever. I see the necessity of departure; and it is like looking on the necessity of death.”_

_Do you think I can stay to become nothing to you?  Do you think I am an automaton?—a machine without feelings? And can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!”_

_Quark grabs him by the sleeves and pulls him down to kiss him, pushing the tears on Odo’s lips into his mouth. Odo knows by now that tears taste salty, but Odo’s dreaming mind supplies him with the taste of Kava fruit instead. Odo pulls away. “Let me_ go! _”_

_“Where, Jane? To Ireland?”_

_“To the Great Link! So they can turn me back into a changeling and I can stop having these absurd dreams!”_

_“Odo, will you marry me?” Quark’s eyes are wide and eager, the shadow of Mr. Rochester receding._

_“Absolutely not!”_

_“Do you doubt me, Odo?”_

_“I always doubt you!”_

_“You have no faith in me?”_

_“None!”_

_“You—you strange, you almost unearthly thing!—I love as my own flesh,” Quark gasps Mr. Rochester’s lines, looking desperate rather than enraptured. He has absolutely none of the man’s brooding appeal._

_“No you don’t! Get off!”_

_“You, Odo, I must have you for my own—entirely my own. Will you be mine? Say yes, quickly.”_

_“This is all a dream! Just a dream—”_

_“Odo, you torture me!”_

_“Damn you! Damn me! Damn the Great Link; they must have done this on purpose, oh I hate them all—”_

_“Are you happy, Odo?” They are back to kissing again. “Are you happy?”_

Odo sat up, shouting incoherently. He took a moment to be glad he’d soundproofed his quarters, so that even if by some icing on this terrible cake he had been sleep-talking, Quark was unlikely to have heard him. He then returned to cursing the Great Link as he shivered in the ‘fresher.


	5. Les Miserables

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: this chapter references javert's suicide.

_Rule of Obedience #136: Prisoners are not to be left unattended. Odo is breaking the rules._

_Chasing Jean Valjean has become as natural as the moon chasing the sun across the sky, tracking its bright prize by the patterns of the stars. Now they are at an eclipse, and the whole sky is burning down._

_Odo had the man in his grasp, willing to finally submit to the law, and instead of taking him in, Odo turned and fled at the first opportunity._

_Who is Javert if he is not chasing Valjean? And who is Valjean if he is not running from Javert?_

_The moon should be out, but the clouds obscure it. There is nothing in the sky._

_Odo leans out over the Seine, staring into the rapids crashing beneath, stomach churning with anxiety and confusion. All his life he has striven not to be great, or to do great things, but to serve as an incorruptible instrument of the highest authority in the universe: Justice and the Law. Now he has failed—he turned his back on the law, all for the sake of a convict. In following the budding arrow of conscience within himself, he has lost every other guidepost along the way, leaving him adrift with only the terrified and inconstant staccato of his heart._

_Whatever road he takes now, he loses something. If he tracks down Valjean once more and makes him a prisoner, he loses the sun, and must go on in the dark. If he continues down the path he is on now, he loses the moon and stars, and must go on with no heavenly map to guide him._

_He looks up at the pale blank sky and thinks,_ maybe I have already lost the moon _._

_The parapet is low and thin; Odo climbs over it easily, even in his cumbersome solid clothing. The Seine roars below him as he balances on the edge. Looking down into the cold depths, he feels almost at peace._

_This is how the story is supposed to end. This was always going to be his fate. Death is the sweet release from Javert’s pain and confusion._

_“I escape now from this world,” he hums to himself, “the world of Jean Valjean…”_

_He leans over, letting his solid, bony limbs go loose as he pitches forward. The ocean rushes up to meet him, and then he feels it in his mouth. He is not sure what Earth’s rivers are supposed to taste like. This river tastes sweet, like Kava juice. He closes his eyes…_

_…And is wrenched abruptly out of the Seine’s frigid embrace. Arms wrap around him and tug him to shore._

_“Javert!”_

_Valjean is Quark; Valjean’s sunken, sleepless look is in the darkness rimming Quark’s gaze, and Quark’s small frame fits neatly over Valjean’s slight, haggard form. Aside from those superficial similarities, they are actually not very much alike, except in that Odo pursues them both._

_And in that they are both unrepentant thieves._

_Odo is lying on a rocky islet, feeling the spray of the river as it crashes against the rocks. He shivers in the cold wind, soaked through every layer of his uniform. Quark-Valjean is also dripping, his arms around Odo’s shoulders, holding him up._

_“What are you doing?” Odo demands, panicky, even as he coughs up the sweet juice. “This isn’t how the story goes.”_

_“I didn’t like the ending.” The voice is all Quark._

_“Why? Because you die?”_

_“I go to the hu-man afterlife and sing with a pretty fe-male. You throw yourself into the Seine.”_

_“That’s only in the musical.”_

_“Not the part where you fall into an ocean,” Quark murmurs, bringing a hand up to caress Odo’s cheek, surprisingly gentle. Almost Valjean. “That part’s always the same.”_

_“The Seine is a river, not an ocean,” Odo corrects him, even as he leans into the touch._

_“All hu-man bodies of water are the same to me,” says Quark, leaning down, and kisses him._

_Odo stops trying to remember whether or not Javert and Valjean kiss in any of the adaptations. In fact, he stops thinking about_ Les Miserables _altogether. He remembers rolling around on a rocky ground with Quark before, cursing him. They can’t curse each other now because they’re too busy shoving their tongues into each other’s mouths. The Seine still roars in his ears, and Odo feels a curious heat building inside of him. Their kisses are wet with the river. (Or is it the ocean?) Odo presses up against Quark, clutching at his damp coat; Quark sighs and wraps his arms around—_

Odo’s alarm went off.


	6. Great Expectations

_Miss Havisham’s old bridal gown is on fire. Odo rushes forward and frantically tries to put out the fire, transforming himself into a thick blanket to smother the flames. Her screaming is high-pitched and horrible, like everything else about her. Despite all Odo’s best efforts, she seems about to burn away, as if disintegrated by a Cardassian phaser._

_Suddenly, miraculously, the flames recede. Odo reconstitutes his humanoid form and looks up to examine her face. Estella stares pitifully back at him, a blotchy purple bruise marring one eye._

_“Estella!” Odo cries. “Who is responsible for your condition? Was it Drummle? Jaggers will send him to the gallows for this!”_

_“Pip, no,” Estella wheezes between meticulously sharpened teeth._

_“Don’t move. I’ll get help,” Odo promises, making to stand up, but a hand clutching his uniform stops him._

_“Don’t leave me alone,” Quark pleads._

_“Doctor! Someone call a doctor!” The old house is empty. Odo slaps his comm badge frantically, but no one answers._

Odo’s heart was racing when he woke up. Was this what Humans meant by “nightmare?” He didn’t have the usual physiological response to contend with this time, but he was shaking all over and his breathing refused to slow.

This was getting ridiculous. _Five_  erotically charged dreams and now a nightmare that had him gasping for breath. All his favorite novels were going to be utterly ruined at this rate. Once he had dressed and calmed himself, he put in another call to Lwaxana.

“Hello, Odo!” Lwaxana greeted him cheerfully. This time it was midday on Betazed. “How are you? Any more interesting dreams?”

 “Six, to be precise,” said Odo through gritted teeth.

 “Really!” Lwaxana looked delighted. “Were they all about the bartender?”

Odo looked at the ceiling. “Yes.”

“Hmm. That is a bit unusual,” Lwaxana mused.

Odo sighed. “I knew it. I have developed a Human brain disease and I am probably going to die.”

“Don’t be silly; you’re not going to die. Your subconscious is probably just trying to tell you something.”

“I don’t have a subconscious,” said Odo, frowning.

“We all have a subconscious. Trust me, I’m a Betazoid. Now, what could these recurring dreams mean…” Lwaxana tilted her head thoughtfully, squinting at Odo. “This is so difficult from a distance! I wish I could visit so I could have a look inside your mind, but being a single mother is exceedingly time consuming.”

“I understand. Please don’t trouble yourself on my account.” Odo was secretly glad; he didn’t relish the thought of anyone poking around his brain.

“Maybe you should see a counselor. My daughter Deanna is a counselor, you know. Does DS9 have one?” Odo shook his head. Lwaxana looked mildly offended. “Well, they should bring one on! Deanna is always an asset to her crew, if sometimes an underappreciated one…”

“I just want to read _Les Miserables_ again without remembering—“ Odo stiffened. “Things. You know.”

Lwaxana nodded sympathetically. “Yes, I know the feeling. Have you tried talking to Quark about the dreams?”

Odo recoiled. “No! And I intend to make sure he never finds out about them!”

Lwaxana shrugged. “On Betazed this sort of thing doesn’t stay hidden for long. Eventually you just end up discussing it.” She squinted at Odo again. “Say, are you attracted to Quark?”

Odo felt an unpleasant burning sensation wash over his face. “What?”

“Well, I’m just saying if you _are_ attracted to Quark, that might explain—“

“I do not experience that sort of ‘attraction.’”

“I know, dear; I don’t just mean sexually. Although that would also be fine--”

Odo gaped when he caught her meaning. “I— _no!_ ”

“You know, it’s okay if you do have a little crush on Quark. Sometimes these things just happen. Don’t worry so much about it!”

“I know what a crush feels like and _this_ is not it,” Odo declared.

Lwaxana just raised an eyebrow. She was about to reply when an unpleasant shrieking noise sounded from somewhere off screen. “Oh dear, I’d better take care of that,” she sighed. “I’ll call you soon, alright? In the meantime maybe try some meditation!” She shut off the holo before Odo could protest.


	7. More Ado About Nothing

_Odo is wearing a translucent veil, much like the one Lwaxana wore to their sham wedding, as well as the accompanying white robes. He is standing amidst a small crowd of people outside the Bajoran temple. Jadzia and Worf are loitering in front of the doorway, accompanied by Garak, who is wearing a set of finely tailored black friar’s robes. Jadzia has lifted her own veil and is arm and arm with Worf._

_Quark stands on tiptoe on the stairs and looks around. He is wearing his onesie pajamas and does not look at all out of place. “Which is Odo?”_

_Odo tugs off the veil. “I answer to that name. What is your will?”_

_“Do you not love me?”_

_“Why, no; no more than reason.”_

_Quark crosses his arms. “Why, then the Captain, Jake, and Worf have been deceived; they swore you did,” he pouts._

_“Do you not love me?”_

_Quark pauses. Then he says, “Nah!” and laughs, looking away. “No more than reason.”_

_“Why, then the Doctor, Kira, and Leeta are much deceived, for they did swear you did.” Odo’s face is pinching like he just took a shot of well-aged spring wine. Quark had convinced him to try it when he was still moping over being trapped in one shape. It turned out to be a bit too much too fast._

_“They swore that you were almost sick for me.”_

_“They swore that you were well-nigh dead for me._

_“’Tis no such matter. Then you do not love me?”_

_“No, truly, but in friendly recompense.” Odo turns up his nose and turns a foot to the side as if about to leave. Quark opens his mouth, but a comeback escapes him._

_“Come, Constable, I am sure you love the gentleman!” Bashir suddenly interjects._

_"And I’ll be sworn upon’t that he loves him; for here’s a paper, written in his hand, a halting sonnet of his own pure brain, fashion’d to Odo.” Worf holds up the document, a rolled up piece of paper which unrolls comically long, earning giggles from the crowd. Quark blushes and tries to swat it away, but Worf just holds it higher, and Quark is left bouncing pitifully._

_“And here’s another, writ in my cousin’s hand, stolen from his pocket, containing his affection unto Quark,” calls Jadzia. Odo makes a grab for it, but Quark is quicker, and they wrestle briefly over the little slip of paper._

_Odo wins, but Quark is grinning from lobe to lobe. “A miracle! Here’s our own hands against our hearts.” He holds out one such hand. “Come, I will have thee; but, by this light, I take thee for pity.”_

_“I would not deny you; but, by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion, and partly to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption,” says Odo as he takes the offered hand, unable to keep the fondness out of his sarcasm. He tosses the paper aside._

_“Peace! I will stop your mouth.” And they kiss._

Quark twitched awake, Odo’s soft hands replaced by course replicated bedsheets. He grumbled and rolled over. “That’s the last time I watch weird Terran holos with Jadzia,” he muttered into his pillow, and drifted back to sleep.


End file.
